The crystal blue Mississippi sky dotted with cotton shaped clouds blends in almost seamlessly with row after row of golden rice ready for harvest. The scene is only interrupted by the roaring of combines, plucking grain after grain.

On the outskirts of the field, Joe Aguzzi monitors the harvest from his pick-up truck. Joe, the 96-year-old patriarch of the Aguzzi family, runs his operation with sons, nephews, grandsons and great-grandsons.

“I feel real good about it [the future of the operation],” Joe says. “Not only do my sons and nephews work, but my grandsons, and this summer, I had five great-grandsons out here. Even though they are still in school, they spend their spare time out here. I’ve got them driving a combine, tractor, rolling polypipe and anything at 14 or 15 years old. I kind of try to stay out of the way. But, I don’t want them to know that they can do it without me. I do write their checks.”

The Aguzzis have farmed the same land in Bolivar County for more than 100 years, but their family farming legacy began with Joe’s grandfather nearly 130 years ago.

“My grandfather came to Lake Village, Arkansas, from Italy in 1895. They came over as immigrant workers. They were promised a lot on Sunnyside Plantation, but it didn’t work out that way,” Joe says. “After a few years, they were able to branch out and go do what they wanted to do. They moved to Greenville, then Shelby, Merigold, Boyle and then Cleveland. That’s when granddaddy bought 140 acres where we live now [between] 1912 and 1915. And then, it grew from that.”

Joe enlisted to serve as an infantry scout in World War II. At 18-years-old, he was shot through the leg, earning him a Purple Heart and a several weeks’ stay in an Army hospital. Following his service, Joe returned to the farm, where he and his brother, Victor Aguzzi, Sr., began farming cotton and purchasing more land. By the 1970s, the Aguzzis added a second full-time crop – rice.

“When I came down here and bought this section of land near Litton, my brother asked, ‘Why would you want to get that land? It’s 10 miles away from home.’ I said, ‘Well, it’s got good rice allotment on it.’ If you bought land with allotment, you could move that allotment. But, that’s the only way to increase your allotment. It was nothing but ducks and coffee beans here at that time, but now, its level and it’s an ideal place [to grow rice],” Joe says.

During harvest 2022, it was all hands on deck, whether it be driving a combine, driving trucks, taking in grain at the on-farm elevator, or even making repairs to each moving part of the operation. Michael Aguzzi, one of Joe’s grandsons, is one of the many family members who work on the farm and can usually be found on a combine.

“[This life] is a true testament to my grandfather, his brother, Victor, and all of their family members that worked hard over those years,” Michael says. “They persevered through a lot of hard times to help us get to where we are today, and that’s something we’ll never forget.”

The Aguzzis have been involved in Farm Bureau for decades, many family members serving on the Bolivar County Farm Bureau Board of Directors or participating in state-level programs, like Young Farmers & Ranchers. Even during harvest, Joe and Michael graciously take time to inform Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials, participating in a Farm Bureau-led farm tour, about how their operation works.

“We have always belonged to Farm Bureau, and it’s a good organization,” Joe says.

“It’s just invaluable to us on a daily basis, especially with policy decisions,” Michael adds. “Anything we need, Farm Bureau is there for us, and we really appreciate everything. We like being able to work hand-in-hand with them on many, many things to help impact positive changes for agriculture in Mississippi.”

The Aguzzi family is one of the reasons Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation celebrates 100 years in 2022 and looks to continue advocating for farming and rural Mississippi for the next 100 years.

“Farming is always been a part of who our family is, which is why we strive to pass it on to another generation. That’s the overall goal for all of us, and we know Farm Bureau is here to help,” Michael says.